The Mystery of the Mona Lisa (TRIH ep 667)
1503 · Resource
In this episode of The Rest Is History Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook explore the enduring fascination with Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa. Beginning with Walter Pater’s 1869 prose, they trace the painting’s technical challenges, its early copies, and the development of the sfumato technique. The hosts discuss the myriad theories about the sitter’s identity—from Lisa Gherardini, wife of Francesco del Giocondo, to more exotic candidates such as Pacifica Brandano and even Leonardo himself—whi...
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Around 1503
- The Reformation (1517)
- Columbus reaches the Americas (1492)
- Luther's 95 Theses (1517)
- Fall of Constantinople (1453)
- Michelangelo (1475)
- Reign of Henry VIII (1509)
- English Reformation (1533)
- Mughal Empire (1526)
- Sistine Chapel ceiling (1508)
- Martin Luther (1483)